Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sarah Kaiser of Casino Global Sourcing
If you’re a seller you will have been there before – left over stock which is draining your resources. As discussed in here on AllBusiness.com, not only is it holding up financial resources but, depending on the type of the stock it is, it may also be taking up space in your stock room. If you pay for storage this could be a major concern and you need to address it sooner rather than later. You know you need to get rid of this stock but the problem is that, for one reason or another, it just won’t shift. What can you do to change things? What can you do to alleviate the problem and stop this stale stock from continuing to be a drain on your resources?
In this article we’re going to be highlighting the ways that you can get this old stock moving and get it off your stock list. You may have tried some of these tips before but we’re sure you will find at least one helpful piece of advice amongst these suggestions.
1. Pricing – Do You Need To Adjust It?
Selling stale inventory at discounted prices is a good idea and something you should definitely consider. As per this article from CIO.com, adjusting the pricing of your stale inventory to get it moving is, of course, a natural first reaction. However, you need to be savvy and not just jump into slashing prices without some serious forethought. Will you be able to break even? Might you even be able to make a small profit? Some companies have been known to hold on to stale stock for years while it remains a burden on the bottom line. Whatever you decide you must know that holding on to stale stock is not an option. Even if it means making less of a profit than you had initially projected, or even making a loss, you should know that holding on to stock in the hope that it will soar in demand and sell at the price you want may hurt your business in the long run.
2. Competitive Repricing
Are you stuck with stale stock that competitors are having no trouble shifting? Have you tried a repricer? Do you even know what it is? In a nutshell, a repricer updates your prices in real time to match or beat those of your competitors. At the same time, if one of your competitors sells out of a product that you still have your repricer should increase your prices to take advantage of the lack of competition. If you’re selling on Amazon this should definitely be part of your overall selling strategy. If you’re concerned about selling without making a profit a competitive repricer will ensure that your old stock does not sell at too low a price.
As Teikametrics.com points out, using a repricer is a great idea but it should be accurately configured to work in sync with your selling strategy. You need to be able to work with your repricer and have it work towards your business goals but spending the time now to find one that works for you will save you money in the long run.
3. Get People Know
If you’re going to lower your prices, and risk making a loss in order to get rid of your excess stale stock, you should at least let people know about your promotion and make sure that the lowered prices are worth your while. Be sure to advertise your products adequately and let as many people as possible know about your sale.
The way you organise and list your stock on Amazon is a big factor to the success, or otherwise, of selling products there. Ecommerce marketing strategies expert, Lisa Suttora, recommends re-keywording product titles and descriptions? Are you aware that the significant majority of all online sales are initiated through a search for the specific item by the buyer? Use keywords in product titles and your product descriptions to make sure your potential customers are actually finding your stock. There are tools you can use to discover the exact keywords that buyers are using to find listings of the type of stock that you sell.
4. Promotional Event
Be smart about how you price and promote your stale stock and you could be on to a great opportunity. Sure, reducing your prices on your stale stock will be a good move but taking it a step further will give your sale a boost. I also pointed out how useful a promotion can be in another article ‘10 tips to sell my private label products’ on bitrebels.com. A promotional event will make it known, to anyone who comes across your Amazon shop, that you are serious about giving your customers value for money. Give your promotional event a catchy name and see if you can link it to another event – such as 4th of July or easter. Link certain relevant items from your stale stock to more current stock you may find yourself with some great promotional ideas on hand that customers will find hard to resist.
A promotional event is also easier to market rather than individual items with discounted prices. You can share information about your promotional event via social media and encourage both existing and potential customers to spread word about the event.
5. Bundle old stock with new as an incentive
If you find yourself with lots of leftover stock another good idea is to bundle relevant items with newer products. As this article on VendHQ.com point out, even if you are getting rid of the stale stock at a loss, maybe even a 100% loss, you can turn it into a positive for your customers. Offer relevant items as free incentives with particular newer items or popular items and your customers will see that you are offering them a great deal. Top businesses do this regularly and their one-off customers end up becoming regular ones since they feel they are getting more than what they paid for.
If you’re faced with writing off your stale stock you have nothing to lose by giving it away for free if it is bundled with an appropriate item that is already selling well.
This guest post was written by Sarah Kaiser
Sarah Kaiser is a digital marketing manager at Casino Global Sourcing, the sourcing division of a French retailer Groupe Casino. She’s in charge of the product catalog of casino global sourcing, which offers helps and handles enquiries about private label product sourcing and manufacturing. She’s a fan of water sports and has studied business management in France. Her works have been published on dozens of websites and blogs.
